Drumstick Tricks

Drumstick Tricks

Drumstick Tricks

To the performing drummer, drumstick sticks can increase the "wow" factor of your performance significantly. While a lot of drummers would say that drumstick tricks are a waste of time, and that you are viewed as showing off, showmanship is an important factor when it comes to a drummers live performance. If you are boring to watch, chances are the the audience are will find what you are playing boring. Don't get me wrong, by no means is this the most important skill to have when playing live shows, but it is something to think about incorporating once you are feeling comfortable with your material.

Drumstick tricks take a lot of practice, and even when practiced to death they can still go wrong, especially when you are doing tricks involving throwing of the sticks. It is a good idea to have a few spare drumsticks handy when playing live, just in case you send one in the wrong direction. If you do drop a stick during an attempted trick, quickly grab a spare and keep going.

Playing live vs. Practicing. There is a significant difference when it comes to performing tricks in your basement at home compared to on stage infront of an audience. There are a lot of factors that affect your ability to perform drumstick tricks smoothly when performing in front of an audience.

1. Adrenaline If you are playing in front of someone you are trying to impress, or just a large group of people, you will feel adrenaline soon enough. Performing drumstick tricks when adrenaline is pumping through your veins can cause you too misjudge, or overcompensate your trick.

2. Lighting This is mainly an issue if you are playing a gig where there are lots of lighting effects such as strobes and lasers etc. Doing a drumstick trick with a strobe light going at the same time is a mean feat, it's like throwing a ball against a wall and trying to catch it with a strobe light going, you can only see it in flashes and have to anticipate when it will fall back into your hand.

Deciding what tricks to learn comes down to you as a drummer, do whatever you feel most comfortable with, and also what you think looks the coolest. There are a lot of drummers out there that pull off drumstick tricks with great success time after time, my personal favourite being Adam Gray from the band Texas in July.

In conclusion drumstick tricks can be a very useful skill when it comes to performing live, and I would encourage anyone to give them a go. I would highly reccomend the DVD, Stick Tricks by Chip Ritter for anyone wanting to learn or improve on their drumstick tricks and overall showmanship.

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